Crystal Palace change bookie with W88 taking shirt sponsorship
August 4 – Crystal Palace FC have replaced one betting firm with another as the club’s main shirt sponsor. Online gaming brand W88 will take over from ManBetX for next season.
Inter Milan push videogaming with EA as Chinese social numbers grow 73%
August 4 – Inter Milan are boosting fan engagement activities via two new initiatives: a partnership with video gamemaker EA Sports for its FIFA game and a new WeChat virtual community for its Chinese fans.
Bell tolls for FIFA and Infantino questioners as he argues the case that there is no case
By Andrew Warshaw
August 3 – FIFA came out with all guns blazing today as it savaged the decision by the Swiss authorities to launch a criminal investigation into the conduct of Gianni Infantino, insisting there was no case to answer and hinting it might be based on a deliberate attempt to bring Infantino down.
FIFA Council should be ‘terrified’, says Bility, as Infantino calls on his African support
By Paul Nicholson
August 3 – Musa Bility has made it a hat-trick of hard-hitting letters in the past week with his latest being to the FIFA Council demanding they force the standing down of FIFA president Gianni Infantino following the opening of a criminal investigation by the Swiss judiciary.
Coronavirus: Second shutdown forces Zambia to cancel Super League
August 3 – Zambia has cancelled its top flight, the Super League, following a steady rise in coronavirus infections with clubs flouting medical protocols. The league had resumed in July after the pandemic shutdown.
FIFA video-game maker Electronic Arts enjoys record $1.46bn quarter revenues
By David Owen
August 3 – Pandemic-related lockdowns and travel restrictions have wreaked havoc with football schedules. But the enforced isolation of individuals and family groups for weeks on end in many soccer-mad countries is evidently doing no harm at all to the video-gaming and esports booms.
Belgians increase Pro League to 18 teams giving a boost to Thai and Saudi club owners
By Samindra Kunti
August 3 – Belgian football has settled on a 18-team format for the next two seasons in the top flight after a court ruling, confirming Waasland-Beveren couldn’t be relegated, forced a u-turn from the Pro League. As a result, both OH Leuven, owned by King Power, and Beerschot, with a Saudi majority owner, were promoted to 1A.
Barca’s Bartomeu closes door on Neymar’s return as austerity kicks-in
August 3 – Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu (pictured) says the club will not be splashing out on re-signing Neymar this summer, putting an end once and for all to rumours of his return.
Brewer switches brands with Europa League renewal as Heineken 0.0% takes Amstel slot
August 3 – Heineken has signed a new sponsorship with UEFA for the Europa League that will begin with the resumption of the competition this week and run through to June 2024.
Blatter says it is ‘clear’ FIFA Ethics need to open a case and suspend Infantino
August 3 – Sepp Blatter has been quick to call for his successor, Gianni Infantino, to be suspended by FIFA after criminal proceedings were opened against the latter in Switzerland last week.
Match-fixing: AFC adds goalkeeper to long list of Laos players banned for life
August 3 – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has issued another life time ban on a Laos national team player for match fixing.
Did FIFA and Infantino just pull up the drawbridge as criminal investigators circle?
FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s insistence that he will continue in post and brazen it out in face of the criminal investigation into his own behaviour – repeat, CRIMINAL investigation into his own behaviour – is no small thing. On multiple levels.
Saudis pull out of Newcastle leaving Ashley looking for a new buyer and Toon Army a new owner
By Andrew Warshaw
July 31 – In a messy, acrimonious end to a long drawn-out saga that couldn’t go on for much longer, the proposed £300 million take-over of English sleeping giants Newcastle United by a Saudi-led consortium has collapsed, leaving the club and its fans once again in a state of limbo and frustration.
Swiss special prosecutor greenlights criminal investigation into FIFA boss Infantino
By Andrew Warshaw
July 30 – Despite persistently brushing aside any semblance of wrongdoing for weeks on end, criminal proceedings were dramatically launched against FIFA president Gianni Infantino today by a Swiss special prosecutor over undocumented dealings with the country’s former attorney general Michael Lauber who resigned last week.
Belgian Pro League plunged back into chaos as court rules Waasland-Beveren must stay in
July 31 – Belgium’s Pro League will again consider plans for the 2020/21 season after a court ruled that Waasland-Beveren, previously relegated, needed to be included in the fixtures list. The new season is due to kick off on August 8.